Saudis Give Nod to Israeli Raid on Iran - The Sunday Times

Here we go... That coven of Iran-nuclear-drumbeaters that consist of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are off again. Israel's Mossad and other senior politicians have apparently been in secret talks with Saudi officials about gaining access to their airspace in the event that Israel decides to launch attacks on Iran's alleged nuclear sites.

I often wonder if there is ever any attempt at injecting some plain old common sense into this debate. If - and this is a big "if" - Iran actually ever gains nuclear weapons capability and decides against all logic to launch a warhead into Israeli territory...does it occur to the coven that amongst the many victims of nuclear fallout will be scores of Muslims? Palestinians, including Iranian ally Hamas; Lebanese, including Iran's dearest regional pal Hezbollah; Syrians, close partners of the Islamic Republic? Israel ain't that big, and any nuclear attack will affect friends and foes alike.

But the wardrums will continue because - nay - there is no common sense here. Just political posturing and distraction tactics to avert global attention away from the mind-numbing inability of these three US allies to strike a Palestinian peace deal, tackle real democracy and lead the region to a better future.

Their days are numbered as Mideast powerbrokers, and they are scrambling to make themselves relevant by creating bogeymen where they don't exist.

Don't you just love that the same guy who is taking these secret meetings with the Saudis just announced a few weeks ago that Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons has just been moved to 2014? Meir Dagan, Mossad's chief for the past seven years, took away all sense of urgency by his latest proclamation, which incidentally now matches the CIA's estimate for an Iranian weapons program. So, then what's with all the talk of air raids through Saudi airspace? Perhaps they just need something to take the heat off that pesky issue of illegal settlements and peace with Palestinians. Or maybe they're more worried these days about Americans and Europeans getting all warm and fuzzy about Iranians - now that post-election events in the Islamic Republic have blown a hole through the Iranian stereotype and revealed a country that is politically and culturally diverse, and seems to take its democracy more seriously than most in the region. That must surely scare the pants off some Saudis.